Bad Grandpa: A New Kind of Filmmaking?

Obviously we have all heard of the Jackass movies where people with an extremely high pain threshold put their minds and bodies to the test in various dares and pranks. These movies have been put to the test in the public’s eye as an interactive form of movie watching where the main characters (which could almost be considered a documentary in a way) play pranks on the public and on each other, and so far, the films have been welcomed into society.

Bad Grandpa, the story of 85 year old Irving Zisman (Johnny Knoxville), a man whose wife just died, has been well received in the past few weeks as a new kind of Jackass movie.  Instead of there being pranks one after the other, this film shows an actual story line that the characters (Knoxville and 8 year old Jackson Nicoll) follow, all while maintaining their wiseass personalities and tricks.

The main storyline follows Zisman at the funeral of his wife where his daughter, who he hasn’t seen in a years, tells Irving that he must transport his grandson over from Nebraska to Ohio to the boy’s father as she was convicted of a crime and will be going to jail.  Crushed because of the fake happiness he received at the thought of happiness, Irving finds little ways to stay free while he is in watch of his grandson Billy, played by Nicoll.

Although he is well recognized and infamous for his pranks, Knoxville hides in plain sight the entire time in public. But the question that we beg to ask is whether it was really worth the effort to make the film.

It has been reported that  makeup artist Stephen Prouty spent over three and a half hours every day going through makeup to make Knoxville seem as unrecognizable as possible. But is this the new form of movies? The audience soon forgets that the film is staged and we start to think and even worry for Billy’s well safety, although we subtly remind ourselves that the outrageous acts in the film are quite preposterous to happen in real life.

Even more shocking is the fact that Nicoll is an eight year old who endures these jokes, all with innuendoes going straight over his head. It was actually more entertaining to see his reactions to the jokes than the jokes themselves, and it was extremely amusing to see him on-up Knoxville whenever the opportunity arose for him to do so.

This film could plausibly lead to a whole new genre of movies. While the idea was first thought up of over 10 years ago, the movie stands the test of time and works in all ages, and could possibly change the movie making process in the future. The entire film was shot without the characters’ knowledge of what was to happen, save for a few stunts and flashbacks. If the present success of the film has anything to predict for the future, it would probably be that if a movie could be made without the actors’ knowledge, just raw emotions, what can come out of the idea in the future?

Watch the trailer below:

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